1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a collapsible child support apparatus comprising a frame supporting a seat for the child, the frame and the seat having an open condition for seating a child in the seat and a collapsed condition for storage or transportation.
2. State of the Art
An earlier and unpublished pushchair design of the present applicant is shown in highly schematic form in FIG. 13. The pushchair is one example of a collapsible child support apparatus, other examples including prams and buggies (commonly referred to baby carriages or carriages in the United States), and strollers all being for transporting a child and a high chair for supporting a child in a generally static location. The earlier pushchair 100 in FIG. 13 comprises a frame 102 supporting a seat 104 for the child. The frame and the seat have an open condition as shown for seating a child in the seat and a collapsed condition for storing the pushchair or for convenient transportation (not shown).
The frame 102 comprises left and right frame assemblies, although only the left frame assembly can be seen in FIG. 13. Each frame assembly comprises a front member 106, a rear member 108 and a handle member 110 pivotally mounted together by a hinge member 112 to allow pivotal movement of the frame members between open and collapsed conditions.
The seat 104 comprises a seat base 114 supported by the front frame members, a seat back 116 supported by the handle members and a seat pivot 118 to allow the seat back and seat base to pivot between open and closed conditions. As shown more particularly in FIG. 14, the seat back is suspended by flexible material 120, such as a strap or webbing, to the handle members which can be extended to allow the seat back to pivot to any one of a plurality of reclined positions relative to the seat base in the open condition. The seat back is reclined further in FIG. 14 than in FIG. 13 by lengthening the amount of flexible material between the seat back and the handle members. The seat base 114 is connected to the front frame by a pivot 122 to allow the seat base to pivot relative to the frame. The seat pivots when the pushchair is collapsed.
The suspended arrangement of the seat together with the frame shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 allows a lightweight apparatus with a compact fold in the collapsed condition. However, it has been found during experimentation that the seat is susceptible to inversion or part inversion because the seat is suspended. The seat is forced from its normal condition shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 towards an inverted condition shown in FIG. 15 in one of two ways. A child seated in a pushchair may arch their back applying pressure to the seat base forward of the seat base pivot 122. This pressure causes a moment to be applied about the pivot as shown by the arrow in FIG. 15 and the seat base and seat back to pivot about the seat pivot 118. The force inverts or partially inverts the seat allowing the child to slide from the seat. Inversion may also occur when a force F shown in FIG. 14 is imparted to the seat 104 in a forwards direction. The force may be generated for example by another child pushing the seat from behind.